Throughout the years, Business Intelligence has been a term that has grown in popularity, and for good reason. “Good Data in” MUST mean “Good data out”! We come up with intuitive and efficient ways to get data into our ERP, but often struggle getting the data out. Business Intelligence, up until recently, relied heavily on the individual who created the reports but much like those flip phones, those times are behind us.

Power BI (PBI), and business intelligence in general, is a huge complement to our team that provides the financial data that we rely on each month. BI is not a replacement, but an addition, ensuring that the ‘Good Data’ in can continue to be more powerful and more intelligence, without the significant learning curve.

The Power BI application is not new, but with recent advancements, it’s a must have in any organization.

Power BI has reinvented the way we can look at our data, from a higher level (charts, visuals, dashboards) right down to the originating transaction.

Power BI is going to knock your socks off... and it’s only the beginning!

With a typical reporting tool like SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) or Crystal Reports, the output can be just as fancy (well, not quite), but it takes a bit more work and a lot of training to learn how to create the Charts and Graphs. With Power BI, it’s just a click, click, click, and you’re all set. I know that sounds too easy, and every time I use it, I think that same thing… but literally, it is that easy!

Now, don’t get me wrong, you can go much deeper into the product and do a lot more than just a few clicks, but even the most impressive reports are still very simple.

Microsoft’s Power BI can connect to nearly 60 different data sources, and that’s quite a lot! Data sources from things you’ve heard of: Excel, Dynamics GP (anything on a SQL Server), txt/csv files, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics CRM, Exchange, Active Directory (Sweet!) and many more, including Facebook! With Content packs, you can be using a dashboard for some of these applications is just a few minutes. Products like Microsoft Dynamics GP even have the ability to incorporate Power BI Dashboards directly on your home screen.

With Power BI, you can connect to your data source and ask the product to provide recommended insights. Using key fields like date, amount, name, etc., PBI will analyze the data and provide recommended reports for key metrics that are important to you. You can even type in simple questions into the Cortana backed Q&A option. So, typing ‘What are the total sales YTD by Territory?’ is no longer a question you just ask internally and have your report team build a report for you. If you ask it of Power BI, it will look at your data and literally provide you with the results…

Check out the screenshot…

Did that just happen?

Yes, my friends, it did!

On your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone in two seconds flat.

Wow!

If you have any questions or would like more information on Power BI, fill out the form to the right.